Snapping its three-session gaining streak, the rupee closed 26 paise lower at 73.83 against the US dollar on Monday, reported news agency Press Trust of India (PTI). The domestic currency fell after crude prices rose amid intensifying geopolitical tensions. A spurt in dollar demand from importers also dragged down the local currency, dealers said. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened lower at 73.80 and lost further ground to hit an intraday low of 74.07 on strong demand for the American currency from importers. However, the rupee clawed back to gain some lost ground.

The rupee gained by 55 paise against the US dollar to close at 73.57 on Friday. That marked the biggest single-day jump in the rupee in more than three weeks. Friday's sharp upmove in the rupee came on the back of weakness in crude oil prices, and ahead of release of key macroeconomic data by the government. The rupee touched an intraday high of 73.52 against the greenback during the session, before settling at 73.57 for the day.

The government is trying to curb overseas shipments to prevent a further widening of the current-account deficit and stem the fall of the rupee. The currency, which has been plummeting for six straight months in the longest stretch since 2002, is seen hitting 75 per dollar by year-end, according to median of 10 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The rupee closed marginally higher against the dollar on Thursday. At 74.12 per dollar, the rupee registered a gain of 9 paise against the greenback for the day, as against the previous close of 74.21. The rupee touched a fresh all-time low of 74.50 against the American currency, before recovering all of the day's losses by the end of the session. Thursday marked a second consecutive higher closing for the rupee against the American currency. Still, the rupee is down around 16 per cent so far this year.

The remarks by Martin Rama, the Chief Economist for the South Asia region at the World Bank, came as the rupee hit an all-time low of 74.45 against the US dollar on Thursday. Elevated oil prices, a recent hike in agricultural support prices, and further exchange rate depreciation, could keep the inflation outlook challenging, possibly resulting in further monetary policy actions, it said.

The rupee touched a lifetime low of 74.48 against the US dollar on Thursday, reported news agency Reuters. Sustained capital outflows and sharp losses in stock markets weighed on the domestic currency, traders were quoted as saying in a report by news agency Press Trust of India (PTI). On Wednesday, the rupee snapped six sessions of losses to close 18 paise higher at 74.21 against the dollar. The rupee has been hitting multiple lows and is Asia's worst-performing currency so far this year.

Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel's comments Friday that the rupee's drop is moderate in comparison to emerging market peers and that the central bank doesn't have any target in mind unnerved investors who were expecting the authority to boost its defense of Asia's worst-performing major currency.